Liverpool owner calls for major change that could limit Newcastle United spending

The owner of one of Newcastle United’s main rivals for a Champions League place has called for a cap on spending in the Premier League.

With the league’s clubs currently complying with profit and sustainability regulations, spending is capped to a loss of £105m over a three-year timeframe and those competing in European competitions must work within UEFA’s Financial Fair Play rules.

However, not for the first time this season, a key figure at Liverpool has discussed the spending of opposition clubs in the Premier League. Speaking in the build-up to Newcastle’s 2-1 defeat at Anfield earlier this season, Reds manager Jurgen Klopp hit out a comments from the Magpies sporting director Dan Ashworth suggesting their was ‘no limit’ to the ambitions at St James Park since a PIF-led takeover of the club in October 2021.

He said: “What does Liverpool do? We cannot act like them. It is not possible. Not possible. It is just clear and again you know the answer. There are three clubs in world football who can do what they want financially.

“It’s legal and everything, fine, but they can do what they want. They will say ‘yeah but we have...’ but it’s exactly the fact. I heard now that at Newcastle somebody said ‘there is no ceiling for this club’. Yes! He is right. He is absolutely right. There is no ceiling for Newcastle. Congratulations, but other clubs have ceilings.”

Now Reds owner John Henry has given his take on spending in the Premier League just weeks after there was speculation the Boston Red Sox owner was looking to end his 13-year spell owning the Reds. The 73-year-old called for ‘limits on spending’ to be introduced into the Premier League to ensure there is still competition between a number of clubs for major honours.

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, he said: “There are ever-increasing financial challenges in the Premier League.

“The league itself is extraordinarily successful and is the greatest football competition in the world, but we’ve thought for some time there should be limits on spending so that the league doesn’t go the way of European leagues where one or two clubs annually have little competition.

“Excitement depends on competition and is the most important component of the Premier League.”